Executive Director

From BSC Policy
Revision as of 22:12, 14 April 2011 by xx>Willkrantz
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General Job Description:

The Executive Director reports directly to the Board of Directors, and is responsible for ensuring that the Board oversees the long-range strategic, annual, and financial plans of the organization. S/he promotes effective external relations and continuing relationships with the BSC's alumni. S/he oversees staff, and assists them in their efforts to educate members to be effective participants in the BSC’s governance. S/he is responsible for ensuring that the BSC fulfills its mission of providing quality, low-cost cooperative housing to students. S/he provides leadership to the membership, the staff, and the Board of Directors, in order to ensure that all departments and programs of the BSC operate in a cost effective manner consistent with cooperative principles of democratic, participatory decision-making.

Specific responsibilities:

  1. Ensures the development of key strategies and vision related to strategic and long-range planning, and provides active leadership to the BSC's student-run Board of Directors, working collaboratively with the Board’s executive officers, in order to implement these policies and plans.
    • Regularly attends Board, Cabinet, Finance Committee, Information Technology Committee and External Affairs Committee meetings in order to perform this role.
    • Attends Personnel and Operations Committee as appropriate in light of the issues being addressed.
    • Serves on other time-limited or special purpose committees at the request of the Board.
  2. Oversees the Operations Manager's leadership of the BSC departments and programs responsible for educating members and supporting house management.
  3. Oversees Human Resources
    • Ensures the organization’s compliance with employment and labor laws and best practices in the workplace
    • Provides overall leadership to BSC employees
  4. Advises the Board of Directors in collective bargaining negotiations.
  5. Oversees long range fiscal planning in order to ensure the continuity and solvency of the organization.
    • Oversees the preparation of annual and semester budgets
    • Oversees annual and semester financial analysis
    • Reports regularly to the Board on the financial health of the organization
    • Reports to the Board on short-term and long-term risks to the BSC and promotes effective risk management.
  6. Oversees long range physical plant and capital asset planning
    • Reports regularly to the Board on the condition of the organization's real property and recommends plans for investing in the replacement and repair of building systems
    • Recommends short-term and long-range plans for increasing the BSC's housing capacity to meet community needs.
  7. Oversees Development and Communications
    • Serves on the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association and actively participates in its programs and committees
    • Ensures that the BSC and the Alumni Association share a common understanding of fundraising goals and plans
    • Pursues other fundraising on behalf of the BSC
    • Oversees external and internal communications to promote the goals of the BSC.
  8. Oversees Information Technology, including long-term improvement programs.
  9. Acts as the primary public and community relations contact for the BSC and works with outside agencies including banks, universities, lawyers, insurance companies, and government officials to fulfill this role
  10. Reports regularly to the Board and its committees, provides continuity and institutional memory, and makes recommendations on policies and procedures.
  11. Provides support to the Board of Directors and executive officers a in their efforts to inform and engage the membership in the democratic processes of decision-making in the BSC
  12. In conjunction with the Board of Directors, actively supports leadership development opportunities for co-op members, both in the organization’s operations and within the larger co-operative movement.
  13. Other duties as required by the Board of Directors or BSC policies.


Skills/ knowledge required:

  1. Working knowledge of:
    • Business and finance
    • Personnel and labor law
    • Property management
    • Contract law
    • Construction processes
    • Computer systems
  2. Excellent management/supervisory skills
  3. Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills
  4. Ability to work in hectic situations, and in stress or crisis
  5. Acquired fluency with BSC policy and practices
  6. Desire and ability to work with students
  7. Desire and ability to work in a student-run, democratic, cooperative process


Additional requirements:

  1. Ability to sit for long hours and sustain long hours of computer and keyboard use.
  2. Willingness and ability to carry an emergency telephone and respond to emergency calls.


Education/experience required:

  1. Four-year college degree
  2. Five years of progressively responsible supervisory and management experience.


Preferred experience:

  1. Previous experience living or working in a democratic or cooperative environment.


Term of job: At will per written contract

Basic wage: FT, salaried, wage level 23-29

Immediate supervisor: Board of Directors

Benefits Contract: Contract negotiated with Board of Directors




Board approved: 2009-05-07